Chapter 20: Annie's New Toy

Nick Fury no longer cared about the accusations of corruption or the reckless misappropriation of public property. After all, while S.H.I.E.L.D. looked glamorous on the surface, its internal composition had actually reached an incredibly dire state.

How dire? It was so dire that if someone wanted to overthrow S.H.I.E.L.D., they would only need to replace the eagle emblem on the headquarters' main gate with a Hydra emblem; nothing else would even need to be done!

Given Hydra's current level of infiltration, they would only need to suppress a small group of S.H.I.E.L.D. loyalists to achieve a smooth transition of power. Any other fence-sitters wouldn't even be worth worrying about! Of course, that was assuming the world's major powers didn't object.

Consequently, Nick Fury no longer cared about Annie's previous blackmail regarding the aircraft. It wasn't even certain if these things would still belong to S.H.I.E.L.D. by the time the time came! If Annie wanted that Helicarrier, he might even dare to give it away.

Furthermore, to provide cover for Hill's movements, he had made a grand spectacle of ordering ground crews and designers to work overtime to rush Annie's new ride. His goal was to create the illusion of a confused, power-abusing Director, thereby drawing the attention of any ill-intentioned eyes within S.H.I.E.L.D. toward himself.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s efficiency was beyond doubt, especially when Director Nick Fury issued an order driven by personal interest. Normally, converting a fighter jet into a civilian aircraft would take considerable time—stripping out combat components and weapons, installing comfortable interiors like living rooms and small bathrooms, and so on.

But under Director Fury's relentless pressure, the ground crews and engineers—who were ostensibly S.H.I.E.L.D. staff but actually Hydra members—finally managed to complete a half-month's worth of work in just three days.

Thus, amidst Annie's cheers, Coulson and Melinda watched as a bright red Quinjet slowly descended onto the lawn outside the villa. It had only been three days! The two of them couldn't fathom why S.H.I.E.L.D.'s efficiency had suddenly skyrocketed.

Was the Director really going to such lengths just to please a little Annie? To Coulson, this felt very wrong. He knew that a new nickname for the Director, coined by Annie, was currently trending within S.H.I.E.L.D. Given the Director's petty personality, wouldn't it be more normal for him to delay the modification by a month or two?

"To be honest, Annie, I still can't believe the Director actually just gave you a Quinjet," Coulson remarked, looking deeply moved as he stood inside the fully renovated cabin.

As a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he knew exactly what a Quinjet was worth. It was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exclusive combat weapon, built using proprietary methods, capable of stealth, underwater travel, and flight in the stratosphere.

To give away such a vital piece of S.H.I.E.L.D. classified material so easily? And looking at it now, what had it been turned into? A living room with sofas, a bar with a liquor cabinet, and even a small room with a bathroom? It seemed the weapon systems had been almost entirely removed. A plane like this certainly couldn't be converted back for military use.

One had to realize that the military had always been eyeing these planes, though they had never succeeded!

It was a long-standing issue; why was General Ross always at odds with Nick Fury? It was because the military wanted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assets, and Director Fury never gave them anything! When facing the military, Nick Fury was a stingy old man who wouldn't give up a single feather.

And now, this Quinjet had been painted a fiery red, and most of its military facilities had been stripped out and replaced with the luxurious decorations Annie liked.

The aircraft's armament was reduced to a single retractable multi-barrel Vulcan cannon on the belly, but even its ammunition bay had been removed and converted into a flush toilet, making it incapable of firing. However, if someone needed to use the restroom, perhaps they could experience a "special bombardment" of falling waste?

Because the forced laborers had completely neglected to install a necessary waste recovery system! The entire drainage system consisted of only a small collection pool; once the waste reached a certain level, it would automatically open a small hatch and dump it directly into the sky! As for who that waste hit, that wasn't their concern. In their view, birds pooped all the time, so wasn't it normal for a plane to discharge some waste? As long as it flew high enough, the high-altitude currents would naturally disperse the filth! But if it flew low... cough, cough!

Watching Melinda adjusting the cockpit systems and the energetic Annie following along to learn how to fly, Coulson sighed again. Power truly was a wonderful thing—converting a warplane to civilian use was something the Director could settle with a single word! It seemed he should just keep his head down, slowly build his seniority, and focus on getting promoted before worrying about anything else.

"Alright! Uncle Coulson, sit tight! We're about to take off!"

Annie sat excitedly in the co-pilot's seat, her hands on the controls, having prompted Auntie Melinda to start the Quinjet's two jet engines. The turbines began to preheat. She had already roughly learned how to pilot the plane—Annie was a genius, after all! Besides, even if something went wrong, wasn't Auntie Melinda in the pilot's seat?

"Melinda! Are you sure about this?" Coulson asked, somewhat horrified, as he hurriedly sat in a high-end sofa and pulled the aviation safety belt from the bulkhead.

After less than an hour of learning, she was going to let a little girl actually pilot such a high-tech, sophisticated military aircraft? Coulson really wanted to say to the two madwomen—one big, one small: "Could you please wait a moment and open the hatch so I can get out first?"

"Princess Annie, takeoff!"

Annie pulled the control stick, and the two turbine engines spat out blue flames. The red Quinjet wobbled upward dozens of meters before suddenly screaming toward the sea, looking as if it were about to dive straight into the water!

"Hey!! Careful!"

Melinda quickly pressed a button on the instrument panel, seized control from the co-pilot's seat, and yanked the main control stick, narrowly leveling the plane just above the sea surface. Although a Quinjet could theoretically submerge, it shouldn't just crash straight into the ocean! Who knew if there were reefs below?

That was far too dangerous! Melinda decided it was better to get the plane to a high altitude before letting Annie play; at least at high altitudes, there were no obstacles, and she would have enough time to correct Annie's mistakes if something went wrong.

"Quick, quick! Auntie Melinda, give the controls back to me!"

Seeing Melinda level the plane and begin to climb rapidly, Annie didn't seem to care at all about her dangerous maneuver just now; she hurriedly urged Melinda to return control! Annie thought this plane was thrilling—it was fast and powerful! She was starting to love this new toy!

"Yay~!!"

"Aha~!!"

Accompanied by Annie's joyful laughter, a red Quinjet above the stratosphere suddenly performed a ninety-degree vertical climb in a cobra maneuver! Then a sharp dive! Then a full 360-degree barrel roll! Then a sudden engine stall and restart into a high-speed spin.

This series of maneuvers left Melinda, sitting in the pilot's seat, completely stunned! If they weren't in the stratosphere with enough altitude, she would have snatched the controls away long ago. This was pure recklessness!

"Jarvis! What was that red thing just now? Was it a plane?"

Tony Stark had just finished his Middle Eastern adventure. After escaping with his life, he had redesigned and perfected his armor, and had recently revealed his identity as Iron Man.

He had subsequently created the Mark II and Mark III suits, incorporating the intelligent computer Jarvis for assistance. He was currently wearing the Mark III, testing his new armor in the stratosphere, when he happened to spot Annie joyfully playing in the Quinjet in the distance.

"Based on the silhouette, it is a Quinjet! Belonging to S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Jarvis uploaded a photo of the distant aircraft, reaching a conclusion immediately through comparison.

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet? Why is it here? And why is it painted such a conspicuous red?"

Tony Stark couldn't understand why a combat aircraft would be painted such a glaring color. It wasn't a stunt plane; was the livery designed so enemies couldn't miss it?

"Jarvis, why don't we go take a look?"

Thinking it over, the increasingly curious Iron Man decided to investigate. He wanted to see what that red plane was up to. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been getting more and more unreliable lately—they hadn't even come to rescue him when he was captured! It was outrageous! His father had been one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

"As you wish, sir."